Thomas Huong talks to Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul about the French engine manufacturer’s relationship with Red Bull Racing and its future in Formula 1.
Despite a disappointing season-opening at the Australian F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne, Renault Sport F1 has good reason to be optimistic after all four Renault-powered cars scored points at the recent Sepang race.
Q: Can you talk about the present state of your relationship with Red Bull Racing?
Abiteboul: It is complex – they are a great team, and pure racers. They want to be winners. Right now, they are not in a position to do so, because in truth, our engine performance is such that they cannot make up the deficit. They are also extremely frustrated with the new engine regulations.
But because this is our works team, they have a voice in the development strategy. That is where things get a little complicated – they are a part of the equation related to engine performance. If we are failing, we are failing together.
Q: What will it take to get to a certain level of competitiveness by mid-season?
Abiteboul: This is a long-term journey. It will not happen over one winter. Basically, if you look at the maths, between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, there is a lap time of two seconds. These two seconds are spread equally between driveability and chassis performance. On driveability, we have recovered half of the deficit. Driveability is the difference between what the driver is requesting and the response the engine is giving. There are also factors like the set-up of the car, wet and dry conditions, the balance and tyre degradation. Our plan is to recover everything with regards to driveability by Monaco, which is Race 6. I am quite sure that, by the first race next year, we will be on par with Mercedes.
Q: Can you talk about the steps you have taken to improve reliability?
Abiteboul: Reliability is something that you plan upstream and very early in the project. You prefer to plan for reliability, rather than have to react to reliability issues. What that means – when you design a new car, you make sure to design it right the first time. How do we do that? From my perspective, it is a mix of two things. Changing the mindset and culture in our factory where there must be a total quality control culture.
For example, Toyota introduced this culture of total quality. We need to have the same thing in F1. Also, this engine technology is very new, and a part of this engine was subcontracted to suppliers. We need to take more ownership and control of the engine. And therefore, we need to in-source all the parts of the engine that were contracted to suppliers.
If you want to control the quality of the product, you need to be fully responsible for the design and development. For instance, we had a lot of reliability issues with the battery last year. The battery was designed by Red Bull, built by a subcontractor and operated on the track by Renault. It should not work like that. You have to go back to basics. It should be designed, manufactured and operated by Renault.
Q: Are you moving towards having a Renault factory team?
Abiteboul: What we need is to be in control of communications and processes. We also look at return on investment. What is coming next, I don’t know. What I can say is, we are extremely committed to the sport.
Q: How strong is the possibility of a Renault works team?
Abiteboul: It is a possibility. But it is not a priority. Our priority is to get the engine to where it is supposed to be. Then again, from a marketing perspective, if it is better to have a different partnership with a team, why not? The question is are we better in marketing and branding activities with sponsorship in F1 or in other forms? For instance, is it better for India to be in F1 or cricket? It is this constant analysis we do at Renault to make sure that we are spending in the most cost-efficient manner on marketing projects. At the end of the day, F1 is a marketing platform. But first, go through the numbers. Having a team means more costs. Can we afford it?
Q: In your opinion, is the future for F1 positive?
Abiteboul: We have to keep in mind that this is a show business. This is entertainment. I am afraid that sometimes, F1 is a bit too selfish, maybe self-centred. I think we need to question ourselves, to challenge our existing recipe – in order to improve. I think fundamentally, people continue to care for motor racing.
If you look at Cars, the movie – it is a huge success. There is absolutely no reason why F1 should not be successful in the future. For instance, if you win on Sunday, are you selling more (cars) on Monday? To do that, you need to have a better understanding of the marketing perspective, having the right product at the right price, with the right technology.
Q: Personally, do you prefer the old V10 or the new F1 engines?
Abiteboul: Personally, the V10s. I am too old, I prefer the noise of a V10. But now, for the first time in history, we can cut fuel consumption by 35%.
Imagine if all the cars worldwide were to cut their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 35%? If cars can embrace the type of technology that we are introducing in F1, that would solve the problem of global warming. Of course, it is not going to happen like that because it is so expensive.
But it is good. F1 is a demonstrator or a laboratory for innovations that can be useful and relevant for the future of the industry. It is important for F1 to evolve and embrace new technologies.At some point in time, F1 will be fully electric! Whether you like it or not – five years, 10 or 15 years, or 50 years. It is just a matter of time – unless something radical happens.
Keyword: Renault confident of F1 success again